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On December 14th, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Monegasque car manufacturer Venturi co-organized the conference “Antarctica 1911-2011” to commemorate the centenary of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s successful attempt to reach the South Pole. The event was held at the Oceanography Museum of Monaco under the high patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and in presence of SEM Michel Rocard, French Ambassador for the Poles.

On December 8th, TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco honoured the official launch of the Polaris Climate Change Observatory (PCCO), a project of the International Polar Foundation, with their presence and support. The project was presented at the Clock Tower in Cape Town (South Africa) by Michel de Wouters, Secretary General of IPF South Africa; Nighat Amin, Vice-President of the IPF; and Prof. Uwe Brückner, creator of the scenography for the PCCO project.

Belgium has a vibrant young group of Polar Scientists. On Thursday December 1st, around 30 young polar experts held a workshop in on Antarctic sciences and celebrated the International Antarctica Day.

HRH Prince Philippe of Belgium led a trade mission to China from the 19th to the 29th of October, celebrating the 40th anniversary of China-Belgium diplomatic relationships. As part of this visit, the Prince travelled to Shanghai to attend an official ceremony organized by the Consul Général of Belgium in Shanghai, Mr Bruno Georges, and the Director of the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC), Dr Huigen Yang. The Prince was accompanied by the President of the International Polar Foundation (IPF), Alain Hubert, and the ceremony took place onboard the Chinese icebreaker, the XueLong (“Snow Dragon”), just hours before its departure for Antarctica.

On November 22nd, the International Polar Foundation (IPF) had the pleasure to welcome a delegation of representatives from various Arctic Indigenous Peoples' organizations. Following the Arctic Futures Symposium of October 2011, in which Indigenous peoples’ issues were, one of the four main themes addressed along with international cooperation, science and economy, the representatives wanted to gain a better understanding of the IPF, its mission and its projects.

The InBev-Baillet Latour Fund, in partnership with the International Polar Foundation announces the opening of the 2011 Call for Proposals for the InBev-Baillet Latour Antarctica Fellowship, a grant of €150,000 providing an exceptional opportunity for a young scientist to carry out research in Antarctica.

From October 12th to 14th, the International Polar Foundation (IPF) had the pleasure to co-organize the second Arctic Futures Symposium with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels. Building on the success of the first Arctic Futures Symposium in October 2010, this year's symposium was an even greater success.

From September 4th to 8th, the International Polar Foundation participated in the 6th Science Centre World Congress held in Cape Town (South Africa). At the event, which is organized every three years, IPF's Mieke Sterken and Michel de Wouters manned the IPF booth to outline the actions of the IPF and present the new Polaris Climate Change Observatory project. The event was an ideal opportunity for networking, as many South African and African science centre representatives were present.

From September 20th to October 18th, the Palais Provincial de Namur (Belgium) will be welcoming a special session on Belgian research in Antarctica in the framework of the "Collège Belgique", an initiative of the Royal Academy for Science and the Arts of Belgium to give citizens access to scientific knowledge. Over the course of the event, 12 researchers from various fields (glaciology, biology, climatology, oceanology, astrophysics and geology) will share their knowledge of Antarctica with the public.

Since the International Polar Year in 2008, the IPF has gained a lot of experience in keeping polar science outreach and education activities alive and prospering. Because of this leadership role, the IPF has been invited to convene a session at the final IPY conference taking place in Montréal in 2012.